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Larry King Interview With Linda Thompson

The beautiful Linda Thompson was Larry King guest yesterday on August 16 2002 at 21.00 ET on the Larry King Live show. Here you have the interesting complete transcript from that interview.
LARRY KING, HOST: Tonight, on the 25th anniversary of Elvis Presley's death, an intimate conversation with the beauty queen who won the King's heart, and saved his life several times but walked away because she couldn't rescue him from his addictions. Linda Thompson, Elvis' girlfriend for nearly five years is next on LARRY KING LIVE.
Good evening. We have quite a show in store for you tonight. You're going to meet Linda Thompson, an extraordinary lady. Not only is she beautiful and bright, she's an Oscar and Grammy-nominated songwriter. She is married to the famed conductor, composer, brilliant David Foster. She was married to the incredible athlete Bruce Jenner. And she was the girlfriend of the late Elvis Presley, who is now gone 25 years from us. It's hard to believe, but it's 25 years.
In fact, Elvis has been dead longer than he was a rock 'n' roll star. He was 42 years old when he died. He even had a recent tune, "A Little Less Conversation," that was "Billboard's" No. 1 single on the singles chart. That single opened at number 50 on "Billboard" hot 100. He made the hot list 152 times. No other act in musical history has even been on the hot list 100 times. He's even featured now in the hit movie "Lilo and Stitch."
By the way, you'll be seeing throughout the program tonight video clips, that's courtesy of "Elvis: His Best Friend Remembers" by Diamond Joe Esposito. It's available on VHS and DVD from Universal Studios Home Video. We will also be showing you other footage during the show tonight. That footage was from the 25th anniversary box set "Elvis: The Definitive Collection." That's courtesy of Passport International. And some of the songs you're hearing tonight are courtesy of RCA Victor. And we also want to give special thanks to Paramount Home Entertainment. A lot of the movies you'll see tonight are available on DVD and VHS.
We thank Linda for agreeing to come. Is this hard for you?
LINDA THOMPSON, ELVIS PRESLEY'S EX-GIRLFRIEND: I have been very judicious about the interviews that I have agreed to do through the years. So it is a little bit difficult for me.
KING: But you know me.
THOMPSON: I know you and I completely respect you.
KING: So, married to Bruce Jenner and now married to David Foster. Were not married before Bruce?
THOMPSON: No, no.
KING: And you have two children with Bruce, right?
THOMPSON: That's right. I have good taste in men, don't I?
KING: Obviously do.
THOMPSON: Very good taste in men.
KING: So you were how old when you met Elvis? And how did you -- give me the story. How did you...
THOMPSON: Well, you know that Elvis liked them young, so I was very young. But I...
KING: Under 20?
THOMPSON: No. I was 22. I had just turned 22. But chronologically, I was older than I was emotionally, having grown up in the South in a kind of a very sequestered environment, you know, very traditional, very conservative. So I...
KING: You were 22, but...
THOMPSON: Twenty-two going on, you know, 13.
KING: What was the occasion?
THOMPSON: I was Miss Tennessee. I was Miss Tennessee Universe in 1972, and Elvis was Elvis. And I was invited to go to the Memphian Theater, which he rented out after midnight to screen films. That was prior to screening rooms. We lived in Memphis.
KING: You mean, he couldn't go to a regular movie?
THOMPSON: Oh, no. He could never go to a regular movie. So he rented the Memphian Theater out after closing hours, and they would screen new movies.
KING: And they would send new movies and he'd watch him.
THOMPSON: Yes, and some old movies, a lot of karate movies.
KING: He liked karate?
THOMPSON: Yes, he loved karate. And he loved action movies like that. So, I was invited to go to the theater. And Miss Rhode Island, Jeannie LaMay (ph), was my roommate in the Miss USA pageant. She was living in Memphis. And she and I went to the theater and were introduced to him properly.
KING: Just hello, this is...
THOMPSON: Hello, this is Miss Tennessee. Hello, honey, where have you been all my life.
KING: Did he come on like that?
THOMPSON: Oh, yes. Well, in the beginning, you know, he was a little smitten, you know, physically.
KING: Was he married at the time?
THOMPSON: No, he wasn't. I met him July 6, 1972 and he had been separated since December, January. But I didn't know. It hadn't been released to the press. So I was pretty standoffish, because, you know, I was a good Southern Baptist girl.
KING: Where would you go on a first date with Elvis Presley?
THOMPSON: Well, we were at the Memphian Theater. I would consider...
KING: I know, but that was -- you consider that a first date?
THOMPSON: I would consider that our first date, yes, because that's when we...
KING: You sat next to him?
THOMPSON: He sat next to me. He came and sat next to me during -- he just got up during the film and came back and plopped down next to me.
KING: You were sitting next to Miss Rhode Island?
THOMPSON: I was.
KING: What did she say to you?
THOMPSON: She bruised my ribs. She kept poking me in the ribs with her elbow. And Elvis pulled the old yawn and stretched the arm over the back of the seat next to me.
KING: What did you think, being 13?
THOMPSON: I thought he was -- you know, being 13 emotionally, I thought he was still married and I was very standoffish. And he finally, during one of his nuzzles, he said, "honey, you know I'm not married any more," to which I responded, "no, I didn't. But, you know, I'm sorry that it didn't work out for you, but you should have married a southern girl."
KING: You said that?
THOMPSON: I said that, and he always remembered my saying that, because he said you have no idea how honest that was and how truthful and how right on that was, because only if you grow up in the South do you understand that culture completely. And he was very southern. And so I think we had an immediate kinship. We were like kindred souls right away. KING: Were there a lot of people in the theater all night long?
THOMPSON: There were probably 25 people there.
KING: Friends of his.
THOMPSON: Friends of his, all friends and acquaintances.
KING: Do you remember the movie?
THOMPSON: No, I don't. It's funny because I didn't remember it the next day.
KING: So, what happened at the end? Did he take you home?
THOMPSON: No. I left -- I was staying at my aunt's house, my Aunt Betty. So I went back to her house. And at 4:00 a.m., the phone rang.
KING: You gave him your number?
THOMPSON: I wrote my number. I was -- being Miss Tennessee. And he said, I'd like to get your number. And I said, well, I don't have a pen and I don't have piece of paper. So I made him do the work. And he went and got some paper and pen and he wrote down my number on a matchbook. And then I got home and I was kicking myself. I thought, oh, he'll never call me. I should have been a little more attentive than that.
KING: You wanted to see him?
THOMPSON: Of course.
KING: You liked his looks?
THOMPSON: He was an amazing -- well, I grew up on him. You know, I grew up in Memphis and I grew up listening to his music and going to his movies.
KING: He was how old at this time?
THOMPSON: He was 35, 36.
KING: So he calls at 4:00.
THOMPSON: Called at 4:00 in the morning, and my Aunt Betty, you know, very southern gracious lady, "hello." And I hear her saying "why, yes, she is. Just a moment, please." Then she goes, "oh, my God. It's Elvis Presley on the phone." So, I said, hi, you know, it's kind of late to call. He said I just want you to know how happy that I met you this evening, and, you know, I wan